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Amp recommendation and setup advice please

Hello,

I love music and I adore quality sound - I cannot listen to music on ordinary speakers/devices.

I have been trying to do my research on sound systems/speakers/amps etc.. and learn/understand the whole shebang, but I'm not that much of a tech head. 

I want to buy the Klipsch RF-7 II tower speakers (I think they are passive, hence requiring an amp). 

I want them for both my new TV and also the vinyl/turntable setup I am going for, which is as follows:

Turntable - ProJect Debut Carbon Premium with Ortofon 2M RED (cartridge)
Phono (pre-amp) - ProJect Phono Box DS
Speakers - as above
Subwoofer - thinking either Klipsch R-12SW or R112SW
Amp - ??

I have a few questions:

1. Am I on the right tracks for having all the essentials?
2. Can someone recommend a good amp to power my speakers and sub please, and does the sub need powering or does it have it's own amp? 
3. Do I need a DAC for TV and connection to laptop? If so can you recommend a good one please? I was thinking of Audioengine D1 Premium 24 bit DAC Interface Connector.
4. Please suggest any alternative products if any of the stuff I mentioned are no good or don't fit together that well.
5. How would I set all of this up? Do I need anything else?
6. Do I need more speakers? I'm worried that the sub may be too much bass and drown out the tower speakers. 

I apologise for my lack of knowledge - I've just signed up here because I read that I could get advice and guidance from enthusiasts and experts. I know that my questions and post may frustrate some of you as I may have made some rookie mistakes, and perhaps this type of post has been done a 100 or so times but wasn't sure how to get answers/help. 

Many kind thanks in advance!

Mo
laher
fsonicsmith's avatar
fsonicsmith
962 posts
 
Ralph, re: your comment about eliminating or minimizing the effect of interconnect, could you please elaborate? I own an ARC Ref6 and ARC Ref150se and I keep getting advice from certain dealers that I should upgrade my IC between the two. I will say this; I have four XLR IC's at my disposal at unless it's in my head, they do sound different! Does this mean my Ref6 is not good at it's job? My question is posed with nothing but earnest sincerity.
laher OP
38 posts
 
@auxinput I have everything up and running now but I’m not entirely convinced of the sounds. Perhaps I have set it all up incorrectly or maybe I need to do something with the settings of the TV or Satellite?

I feel like I need a subwoofer as the bass isn’t enough, and I also feel like there isn’t enough clarity in the highs (possibly the mids). 

Any thoughts/recommendations please? 
mesch
3,520 posts
 
You should be able to run video from satellite box to the TV via HDMI, and audio from the satellite box to the DAC via coax, then DAC to the powered speakers. Is this the way you are set up? 

You have volume control on the DAC and the speakers. Try setting the DAC at fixed output and controlling volume on the speaker. 

Do the powered speakers have tone controls? Might play with these.

Achieve the sonics you desire from the system prior to considering augmenting the bass via use of a subwoofer. 


spenceroo
183 posts
 
Those Neumann KH310A you mentioned earlier are in a totally different league than those other speakers you mentioned. They're also $4500 a pair. You wouldn't need an amp though. There are 6 of them in the Neumanns. I own a pair, and they sound wonderful. They actually look much nicer in person than pictures would lead you to believe. They sound huge for such a small speaker, and go really low. Check the specs.
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

If you used a 1/8" to RCA convertor cable to connect the TV to the Audio-GD DAC, you could be losing sound quality because of poor cable as well as poor audio from the TV.  If this is the only way you can do this, then there's nothing much you can do.

I always advise using digital COAX or toslink cable to connect to the DAC.

As far as bass, the Yamaha studio monitors are pretty good on the bass, as long as your source is good (see first paragraph).  If you feel you are missing bass, it is most likely an acoustic problem with the room.  I have been there.  Room probably requires bass traps to reduce the standing waves.

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